Local News

Hot Topics:

World stocks rise after US manufacturing report

The Associated Press

Updated:
07/01/2014 10:59:10 AM EDT

Click photo to enlarge

Passers-by use cellphones in front of electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday as investors shrugged off signs that Chinese manufacturing is regaining momentum. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

LONDON (AP) — World stock markets turned higher after reports showed manufacturing activity grew in the U.S. and China. In Europe, shares in BNP Paribas rose after the French bank said it had enough funds to pay a nearly $9 billion settlement of charges it violated U.S. trade sanctions.

Market sentiment, which had been lackluster during Asian trading hours, improved after the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity grew in June, albeit at a slower pace than in May.

Earlier, the equivalent report for China showed manufacturing there grew for the first time in six months, though the expansion was weak and below the historical average.

Shares in BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, rose 3.6 percent after it said would be able to handle the U.S. fine it got for violating sanctions. The bank processed billions of dollars in illegal transactions on behalf of clients in Sudan, Cuba and Iran that the U.S. had blacklisted to block their participation in the global financial system. The case had weighed on BNP's share price and the resolution, though it involves a massive fine, is a relief for shareholders.

In the U.S., the Dow was up 0.7 percent at 16,939.36 and the S&P 500 was up 0.6 percent at 1,970.94.

Advertisement

Earlier, in Asia, trading was subdued as investors appeared to shrug off the Chinese manufacturing data.

Mainland China's key benchmark, the Shanghai Composite Index, added 0.1 percent to 2,050.38. Markets in Hong Kong were closed for a public holiday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent to 15,326.20 after the central bank released a survey showing better-than-expected business sentiment despite a decline in the April-June quarter.

Elsewhere, shares in South Korea and Australia also fell, while those in Taiwan and New Zealand gained.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 29 cents to $105.66 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 37 cents on Monday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 101.50 yen from 101.32 yen late Monday. The euro slipped to $1.3683 from $1.3693.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The death of actor Leonard Nimoy last week has inspired people to post photos on social media of marked-up five-dollar Canadian banknotes that show former prime minister Wilfrid Laurier transformed to resemble Spock, Nimoy's famous "Star Trek" character. Full Story